I had one of those “only in Dubai” moments yesterday when I heard that a primary school in Dubai has opened a Starbucks coffee shop,inside its grounds. According to one report, “the shop has taken up a ‘sizeable portion’ of the school’s reception area and the company branding can be seen by passers-by.” Starbucks will split the profits with the school.

Starbucks catching 'em young on the premises of Jumeirah Primary School, Dubai

Ostensibly, the coffee shop’s not for the children; it’s for parents and it comes in response to parental requests for somewhere to gulp a low-fat latte while waiting for the kids to come out. The school claims that pupils won’t be served unless they are with their parents, that the menu has been “edited” to be suitable for school, and that they will have tightened security in place. There was no evidence of tightened security, however, on Wednesday morning as I strolled, unchallenged, through the… Read more